Well, since the turn of the year,
we looked at a couple of Psalms. Lord, speak to me, speak of your
salvation to me. And then last week, the Lord
has done great things for us and thereof we are glad. Now,
a lot of religion would say the same. They'd say, oh yes, the
Lord's done great things for us and we're glad because of
that. But, you know, there's all sorts, and not all is true. In fact, the majority is not
true. The faith of God's true people,
what Paul in Titus chapter one, verse one, calls the faith of
God's elect. It's a rare thing. When the Son
of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth, said Jesus, implying
that true faith, the faith of God's elect, is a rare thing.
In this United Kingdom, It's a very tiny minority. A tiny
minority. I know it is in other places,
but it's a tiny minority. Compared with what it was in
days gone by in this country, it's a tiny minority. There's
still plenty of religion around. There's even religion that calls
itself Christianity, less and less these days. But how to tell
the true from the false? I want to turn your attention
to 1 John chapter 4, some familiar verses, the first three verses.
And the reason is this, that in verse 1 of 1 John, John's
first epistle, chapter 4, and the first verse, At the end of
it, it says, because many false prophets, many false preachers
are gone out into the world. There are many false prophets,
as Jesus warned in Matthew 24 and verse 11. Many false prophets
shall arise and shall deceive many. So I'm not making something
up that, you know, sometimes people are accused of making
a problem that isn't really there just to go and scare people with
it. No, this is real. This was the Lord Jesus Christ
warned about false prophets. There will be false teachers
among you. Lots of preachers claiming to be of Christ, claiming
to have the message of the true God, but actually be what scripture
calls antichrist. In Mark's gospel, chapter 13,
verse 22, and this is echoed in many other places, Jesus says,
false Christs and false prophets shall arise. Things that proclaim
and try to get people to believe that they are Christ, when they're
not, they're false, they're telling lies. They shall arise. They
shall show signs and wonders, which will be quite impressive,
to seduce, to persuade, to win over, if it were possible, even
the elect. Of course, it isn't possible
to win over even the elect. God will not allow it, but it's
possible to win over a lot. It isn't easy to distinguish
at first look. I've mentioned this before, I
know, but I think it's a good illustration. The BBC used to
do an antiques program, they might still do it, I don't know,
called Fake or Fortune, where you get an item of seemingly
great value and it's A question of, is it fake, or is it the
real thing, which is worth a lot of money? It might be a painting,
it might be a sculpture, it might be some artifact from old history. And they gather in all the experts
to examine it, to try and find out, is it a fake? Or is it worth
a fortune? Because if it's the real thing,
there are people with money who will pay colossal sums for things
like this. Is this painting really by van
Gogh? Or is it somebody that... had
a really good go at producing something like the sort of thing
he would produce. Is it fake or is it fortune?
And if it's fake, it's worthless. You might as well throw it away.
It's of no good whatsoever. You can decorate your own walls
with it, but it's not worth anything. Or is it the real thing? In which
case, as I say, billionaires will come and pay big money. It's vital to discern, is it
fake or is it a fortune? Is it worth a fortune? Is the
message of salvation in the same way, is the message of salvation
that you believe? Because you know, people believe
a message of salvation all around. Is the message of salvation that
you, that people believe, is it the message of salvation of
God? Is it the gospel of God? Or is it the delusion, the fake
of Satan? One, that which is of God, leads
to eternal bliss. The other, that which is of Satan,
leads to damnation, to hell. How can we tell? How can we examine
it? People look at all sorts of things.
They look at the awesome tradition. A religion only has credibility
if it has an awesome tradition, magnificent architecture, an
ethos of mystery and a mystical ambience. Others will look at
the friendliness of the community. They look at how impressive are
the social works that go on from this church. What do they do?
Do they feed the local community? Oh, what a wonderful thing to
be doing. Do they have uplifting music? Oh, I can't go to anywhere
unless the music is wonderful and you go in these places and
you see the drum kits and the amplifiers and so on and so forth
as if it's a rock band and yet it's meant to be the worship
of God. You know, not far from us we've got Christchurch Priory,
which is a beautiful building down in Christchurch with a magnificent
organ that sounds absolutely wonderful. But is the message
of the gospel of the God of grace preached there? We've got Barton
Methodist Church half a mile down the road from us, and it's
a thriving congregation of many people doing impressive social
works. But is the true gospel, the gospel
that will save your immortal soul, is that there? We need
to look past how they appear to the flesh and ask, are they
true or are they false? Are they fake or fortune? What's
the fortune? Eternal life, eternal glory.
Will their message take you to heaven or will it confine you
to hell? And for you who are confident
that you believe the truth, why is this relevant? You might say,
well, we believe the truth anyway, so why are you doing this again?
Well, the Lord exercises his people with false prophets from
time to time. so that they might learn to discern
the true. In 1 Corinthians 11 and verse
19, Paul writes, there must also be heresies among you, that they
which are approved may be made manifest among you. In other
words, there needs to be a contrast between truth and error so that
the truth shines out more clearly. in a picture, in a photograph,
how contrast can bring out the sharpness of the thing that you
want to focus on. If you get the background right
and the contrast between the two, it sharpens the image. But
how to test them? How to test these messages that
purport to be the message of the gospel? Do we measure it
by feelings? Do we measure it by our experience?
You've got to be aware of those things. God says in, by Paul,
he says in Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, about people that meddle with
religion but don't ever believe the truth. He sends them a strong
delusion that they might believe a lie. You know, don't just rely
on feelings and experience. What is the test? Well, of course,
it's the Word of God. Isaiah 8, 20, as I often quote,
to the law and the testimony, if they speak not according to
this word, there is no light in them. This is the test. This
is the absolute test. You cannot do better. Compare
it with the Word of God. Or some might say, can't God
sometimes work? in his children without the Word
of God? And I would say, yes, of course.
There are all sorts of situations in life where circumstantial
guidance is provided by God's Spirit. It isn't a direct message
from his Word. Circumstances providentially
guide his people. But I'll tell you this, he never
guides contrary to his Word. It's always in accordance with
his Word, never contrary to it. Only here in this word do we
get, thus saith the Lord. What the Bible calls in a place,
I can't remember where it is now, but a nail fastened in a
sure place. Solid, absolutely rock solid. This isn't going to move. So
our text this morning is 1 John chapter four and the first three
verses. Let's just read them. 1 John
chapter four, the first three verses. Beloved. Believe not
every spirit, that means every preacher, everyone who comes
bringing you a spiritual message. Believe not every spirit, but
try the spirits, test them, whether they are of God, because many
false prophets, false preachers, are gone out into the world.
So how do we know, John? Verse two. Hereby know ye the
spirit of God, every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that confesseth
not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. And
this is that spirit of Antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it
should come, and even now already is it in the world." That was
2,000 years ago. Test it by that test. Well, you say, well, that's
easy. That means that virtually everybody is a true Christian
who says it, because they all say, yes, a baby was born in
Bethlehem 2,000 years ago called Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth. He
is the Christ of God, and yes, that's fine. Doesn't all religion
say that Christ is come in the flesh? Oh, yes, they'll say that
a baby was born, but which Christ? Which Christ? Is it God's Christ? Whereas John implies here, if
it's not, it's Antichrist, the spirit of Antichrist. Which one
is it? Jesus said in Matthew 24 and
verse five, many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ. He said, many will, clearly they're
not. There's only one Christ. He said, many shall come in my
name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. Peter warned
the people that he wrote to, 2 Peter 2, verse 1, there shall
be false teachers among you. Quite clear. You churches, you
who believe the gospel, beware, there shall be false teachers
among you. Men who, as 2 Corinthians 11,
verse 4 says, they've departed from the simplicity that is in
Jesus Christ, and they preach another Jesus. They preach another
Jesus. You know, in the Spanish language,
the name Jesus is a commonly used name. There are footballers
playing in the English Premier League with that as their name. There's only one true Jesus who
shall save his people from their sins. So how does the test of
John enable us to tell the true Christ, the Christ of Scripture?
He said, here's someone that's true, someone that's of God,
he confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. And one
that isn't true, but he's antichrist, doesn't confess that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh. How do we distinguish? How do
we distinguish? Well, here's the first mark.
The Christ of true preachers, those who preach the truth, the
Christ of true scripture of God is the elect head of his elect
body. Oh, I used that word, elect,
election, election, choice, God's choice, not my choice, not your
choice, not anybody, God's choice, God who is sovereign. Without
further debate, we divide the sheep from the goats with that
one statement. The Christ that is come in the
flesh, the true Christ of God, if the Christ that you preach
as coming in the flesh isn't the elect head of his elect body,
he is antichrist, he is not the true Christ. I quote it again
and again, we quoted it last week, Ephesians 1 and verse 4,
it's just said in verse 3, that God has blessed his people, his
people, That sounds quite specific, doesn't it? God has blessed His
people with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ,
in whom He chose us, in Him, in Christ, before the foundation
of the world. God looked at the whole of humanity,
and in love He chose a multitude. It tells us elsewhere. It's a
multitude that no man can number. It's a multitude from every tongue
and tribe and kindred. All humanity is represented in
that multitude that no man can number. It was chosen in Christ.
Why? Purely out of love. Purely out
of the love of God, the grace of God, the sovereign will of
God, the choice of God. And Jesus Christ, who came in
the flesh, is God's elect servant. Look at Isaiah 42 and verse 1
that we read earlier. Isaiah 42 and verse 1. Now read
this. This is Christ. This is Christ. Is this the Christ that you preach
who came in the flesh? Because if you do not preach
this Christ who came in the flesh, you preach antichrist. That verse
was absolutely clear. 1 John chapter 4 verse 2. What does this say? It says in
verse 1 of Isaiah 42, behold my servant. This is God speaking. Behold my servant. whom I uphold, mine elect, in
whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. It goes on down those, read them
again later at your leisure. He is the Lord, that is his name.
He will not give his glory to another. Do you know in John
17 and verse 5, Jesus, the man, before he went to the cross,
in that upper room, and he prayed with his disciples, and he prayed,
Lord, restore to me the glory that I had with you from before
the beginning of time. I am the Lord, that is my name,
and my glory will I not give to another. Who is this Lord
Jesus Christ? He is God, who shares the glory
of God, the glory of the Father and of the Holy Spirit. He is
God, but he, when he laid his glory aside, Philippians 2, 5
to 8, when he, he who thought it not robbery to be equal with
God, he laid his glory aside. Why did he lay his glory aside?
To do the will of his father, which was what? that that multitude
that the Father loved and chose in him before the foundation
of the world should be saved from their sins by the redemption
accomplished by God becoming man. He is the servant, the man
that God became. Jesus is the servant of God.
He's elect. He is the one chosen by God. He is the one whom God trusted. The Father trusted Christ to
come and accomplish redemption. You read that in Ephesians chapter
one as well. I have put my spirit upon him,
and he shall bring forth judgment to the gentiles. Clearly a description
of Jesus, but he is the elect servant. He is the elect head
of his elect body. Jesus Christ came in the flesh,
is God's elect servant, and he was set up, it says in Proverbs,
Proverbs chapter eight, Proverbs chapter eight is a chapter that
you ought to read and study, because it's clearly about Christ. Wisdom, but it's Christ. Proverbs
eight and verse 23, I was set up from everlasting, from the
beginning, or ever the earth was. He was set up from the beginning,
but also, In the Psalms, in Psalm 93, the Lord reigneth. He is
clothed with majesty. The Lord is clothed with strength.
Thy throne, verse two, God's throne, the Lord's throne is
established of old. Thou art from everlasting. God
and the Lord Jesus Christ exactly the same, everlasting. His delights,
it says in Proverbs 8 and verse 31, were with the sons of men.
His delights were with the people that were chosen in him before
the foundation of the world. The Christ of God, when he came
to this earth and he grew and he entered in on his ministry,
He then, walking this world in flesh, the likeness of sinful
flesh, yet without sin, his people were united in him. We could
say he didn't take one step in the flesh, without the whole
of his elect people, a specific people, a particular people,
an innumerable multitude, but nevertheless, every single one,
like an army in its ranks, like that valley of the dry bones
in Ezekiel 37, everyone in their ranks, his elect people, every
one of them was in his human heart as he, God, walked this
earth for their salvation and their redemption. But most professing
Christians, most who claim to be Christians, deny this. They deny that he came for an
elect people, a specific, particular people. The one distinguishing
mark of the truth is particular redemption, that Christ came
and shed his blood Not to make salvation possible for all and
any who will choose, but he came to accomplish it specifically
for the people he chose in Christ before the foundation of the
world. For that body, which is his body, he is the head of the
body. There is one united body of Christ
in him. He is the head. The pictures
are clear throughout scripture. He is the head of the body, and
his body, the different parts are his people in him. He is
the church, the specific church, the particular church whom he
loved and made perfect and spotless. Ephesians 5, read there, husbands
and wives, marriage, but really, he says, I'm talking about Christ
and his church, made his. by eternal divine decree. Let me quote you another oft-quoted
verse. 2 Timothy chapter one, verse
nine, just picking up the word God from the end of verse eight
before it. God has saved us. His people,
his elect people. God has saved us and called us
with an holy calling, not according to our works, what we have done,
that I've been better than you, or he's been better than that
one, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose
and grace, which was given us, that's grace, gift, was given
us in Christ Jesus. When? When I made a decision
for him. That's what you'll hear them
say. What saith the Scripture? To the law and to the testimony.
If they speak not according to this word, there is no light
in them. which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. Well, I'll have all the blessings
of Jesus's salvation and trusting in him and my decision for him,
but I can't believe in this election stuff. You're believing in a
false Christ. You're believing in antichrist.
Your Christ is antichrist. It isn't this one. Given in Christ
Jesus before the world began for his people. Saved us, the
people saved in him before the world began. No. It's his eternal
divine decree which sets the salvation of his people. It isn't
man's decision. It isn't man's will. What does
he say? He says he'll be gracious to
whom? He'll be gracious to Moses in response to the question about
his glory. He says he's a God of sovereign
grace and compassion. And he says, Paul quoting this
in Romans chapter nine says, so salvation is not of him that
willeth. Oh, oh, really? Well, isn't it
just down to me to want salvation? Oh, he'll make you willing in
the day of his power, but it's not of him that willeth, nor
of him that runneth, does anything in particular, but of God who
shows mercy. That's it. That's the Jesus Christ
who came in the flesh. The true preachers preach that
Jesus Christ who came in the flesh. The many preachers and
churches that deny this clear truth of God's word do not confess
Jesus Christ, the biblical Christ, is come in the flesh. Rather,
Be in no doubt, they preach Antichrist. So he's the elect head of his
elect body. Second, he came to accomplish
a complete salvation of his specific elect. He didn't come to open
the way. He didn't come to make it possible
for a man to save himself. His name was Jesus. Why did the
angel tell Joseph, don't be ashamed to take Mary to your wife? The
child that's conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. Call his
name Jesus. Why? Why should we call his name
Jesus? For that name is Joshua, which means saviour. For he shall
save his people from their sins. Who shall he save from their
sins? His people. How does he know who his people
are going to be? They haven't decided for him yet. God decided
for them before the beginning of time, as we've just seen.
Prophesying about his coming, Isaiah said in Isaiah 40, if
you can turn back there, just turn back there now, Isaiah 40,
just a page or two before 42, Isaiah 40 and verse 10, Behold, the Lord God will come,
meaning Christ will come into the world. Behold, the Lord God
will come in the flesh into this world with strong hand and his
arm shall rule for him. His reward is with him and his
work before him. What was his reward? What was
his reward? You could go back to Isaiah chapter
8 and verse 18 you know I'm always quoting 8 20 to the law and to
the testimony if they speak not according to this word there's
no light in them but a couple of verses earlier There we have
Christ saying, behold I and the children whom the Father has
given me. His reward, that's it, his church,
it's his body, it's his redeemed people, it's his elect, it's
the ones he loved with an everlasting love. How could he love someone
with an everlasting love, dependent on whether they might choose
him at some stage in the future or not? He loved his people with
an everlasting love. And then in Isaiah 42, in the
passage that we read, verse four, He shall not fail. He shall not
fail. He is God. It is God's salvation. It is God's church. It is God's
body. It is God's redemption. God shall
not fail. God shall not fail. How could
he leave it? How on earth could he leave it
to the whims and fancies of people that have fallen in trespasses
and sins. Look at chapter 43 of Isaiah,
the first seven verses. Now thus saith the Lord that
created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, fear
not, I have redeemed thee. Who, Jake? Why? You say, oh,
he's talking about the Old Testament Jews. Yes, he was then, but he's
talking about the people of God. As Galatians 6.16 says, the whole
of People who believe the truth, they're the children of Abraham,
and they are the Israel of God, the true Israel of God. Fear
not, I have redeemed thee. Who? His Israel, all of his believing
people, all who have the faith of Abraham. I've called thee
by thy name. I'll do so many things for you. Created, formed, loved, redeemed,
a specific people. For the sake of time, we'll move
on. Precious in his sight, chosen, sins blotted out. We could go
on in chapter 44, redeemed. It says in Isaiah 53 and verse
8, for the transgression of who? For the transgression of my people
was he stricken. Why was Christ stricken? Why
was he crucified? Why was his blood shed? For the
transgression, for the sin of my people was he stricken. And by his death he will justify
all? No, many. You listen to the churches. You listen to the message of
the Anglican Church in this country. It's that Jesus died for everybody. The scripture doesn't say that.
The Jesus Christ they preach who came in the flesh is not
the Jesus Christ of the Old Testament scriptures. He will justify many,
not all. Is this your Christ? Is this
the one who came in flesh? Any other Christ is antichrist. Israel, as the scripture says,
shall be saved in the Lord from start to finish. Can God's glory
depend on a chance that a dead man, a dead woman, dead in trespasses
and sins, because that's what we are by nature, can God's glory
depend on a chance that one who is dead in trespasses and sins
with no spiritual life whatsoever, as dead as a dead body is a dead
body, that that one will choose to accept him. Will he share
his glory with a fallen man? Because if that dead man is able
to say, I will choose you, therefore I save myself by that choice,
making the universal salvation applicable to me, who gets the
glory? Is it not the one that made the
choice? Will God share his glory with fallen man? He says not.
But this was the gospel. of Billy Graham, if those of
you who are older will remember the Crusades in the 1960s, wasn't
it? And 70s and so on. And many others
like him, many others. Oh, well, well, no, no, no. He
wasn't right in every point, but he did such a lot of good
that we won't say anything against him. I'll say something against
him because the word of God does. The gospel of Billy Graham, and
many like them, was that God has done as much as he can, now
it's over to you. And he's standing there on the
sidelines, weeping and sorrowful, hoping that you'll just accept
him. This is not the God who came in the flesh. This isn't
the Jesus Christ who came in the flesh. The Jesus Christ who
came in the flesh is the Jesus Christ who accomplished a complete
salvation. by the test of our text, Billy
Graham and all like him, forever. preach Antichrist. They despise
God's Christ, who's clearly revealed in his word. The Jesus of Christmas
nativity plays, in virtually all cases, is not incarnate God
become man in order to accomplish the eternal purpose of accomplishing
redemption for his beloved elect multitude from the curse of sins.
Therefore, it's Antichrist. Be in no doubt And then thirdly,
and I must rush, he came to make his elect the righteousness of
God. He came to make them completely
righteous in him, 2 Corinthians 5, 21. He who knew no sin was
made sin for us, made the sin of his people, that he might
bear its penalty and pay its price and thereby make his people
that multitude that particular people, make them the righteousness
of God in him. Actually made in the divine justice
of God, justly decreed as righteous as he is righteous. And thereby,
as we read in Colossians chapter 1, made meat, qualified for his
kingdom. How are we made qualified? Follow
after righteousness, holiness, without which no man shall see
the Lord. Are you as righteous as God?
Because that's how righteous you must be if you will go to
heaven. You are in the Lord Jesus Christ. You are if you are in
Him, for He has made you the righteousness of God in Him.
He is, and I'll remind you of these two verses in Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 23 verse six says that he, the Redeemer who would come,
God's Christ who would come, is the Lord our righteousness.
This is the name by which he shall be called, the Lord our
righteousness. And then 10 chapters further
on in chapter 33 and verse 16, This is the name by which his
people shall be called, his bride shall be called. You know, I
know it's not a popular thing these days, but you know, the
Christian tradition of marriage is that a man and a woman get
married, and the woman takes the name of her husband, and
that's reflecting this. Because in Jeremiah 33, verse
16, this is the name by which she shall be called, the Lord
our righteousness. She takes the name of her Lord
because she's made righteous in him. In the Lord, says Isaiah
45, 25, in the Lord shall all the seed of Israel, all that
elect multitude be justified and shall glory. Hence Paul's
ambition. Paul's ambition, look at Philippians
chapter three and verse eight at the end of it. He says, for
whom I have suffered the loss of all things. For Christ, I've
suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but done, that
I may win Christ when it comes to judgment, and be found in
him. On that judgment day, where do
you want to be? I want to be found in Christ. Hiding. The Psalms speak of that
hiding place from a tempest. It's picturing Christ as his
people's hiding place. Can I see your glory, said Moses?
No, stand here in the cleft of the rock, the rock of ages. Cleft
for me is the Lord Jesus Christ. Be found in him, not having mine
own righteousness, which is of the law, that which I would earn
by obeying perfectly. the law of Sinai. But that which
is through the faith of Christ, the faithful work of Christ is
what makes me righteous. And I believe in it by the gift
of faith that he gives me. The righteousness which is of
God by faith. That's what I want. The holiness
without which no man shall see the Lord is not something we
can achieve in sinful flesh. Christ alone can accomplish it. He is the end of the law, as
Romans 10 verse four says. He, Christ, is the end of the
law for righteousness. He is the end of my trying to
become righteous by law works. He is the end of it, to everyone
that believes in him. If you believe in him, you stop
trying. Oh, you seek not to sin if you
can. You want to be holy as he is
holy, for he calls us to be holy. But you know that you don't do
a solitary thing to make yourself holy because you know that all
our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. It's not through my obedience
of the law that I established the law, it's through my faith
in Jesus Christ and the faith of Christ that he accomplished
in his faithful work. It is in that that I am made
righteous. It's that that Abraham believed
and was accounted to him for righteousness. It's not becoming
righteous by keeping the law, the law of Sinai, the law of
Moses as the rule of life. All that does is our schoolmaster
to Christ, to point us to Christ, to cause us to flee to Christ.
Christ is my rule of life. The faith of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the gospel precepts of His grace, that's my rule of life.
His elect multitude are complete in Him. Isn't that what it says?
Oh no, we're progressively sanctifying ourselves until we make ourselves
ready for heaven. No. In the Lord Jesus Christ,
his work is complete. We're the heaven-qualified article
in Christ alone. It says it, Colossians 2 verse
10, you are complete in him. In him we stand before God, complete,
in spotless, pure, perfect obedience of Christ. Can anyone lay anything
to the charge of the Lord Jesus Christ? No. He said, which of
you convicts me of sin? None. None could do it. Nobody
could bring any accusation against him that was true. all who are
in him stand complete. Can anyone lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? No, because they're in Christ.
They're bound up with him. Satan cannot bring anything by
way of charge against them. So if you, by faith, by belief,
are abiding in him, no one, no Satan, no devil, nothing can
justly lay anything to your charge. Sanctification is not mine to
complete. as one of his sheep, as one of
his church? No, he is my sanctification. How do I know that? Do you know,
I remember years ago, must be getting on for 40 years ago now,
I got into awful trouble in one place because I gave a talk on
1 Corinthians 1.30, which says that Christ is made unto us,
unto his people, wisdom from God and righteousness, yes, yes,
they said, yeah, that's all good, and sanctification. What? We're not our own sanctification?
No, no, no. I said Christ is our sanctification. Oh boy, did
that cause a stir. And redemption. And therefore,
being in him from eternity, being redeemed from the curse at Calvary
by his shed blood, What does the scripture say is the result?
Romans 8 verse 1. There is now, therefore, no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus. If anyone preaches a Christ that
merely assists people to get fit for heaven, that's antichrist. For God's Christ completes the
whole of salvation. You may ask, what about personal
holiness? Well, God's people desire personal
holiness, as I've said. You strive for it, though you
constantly fail, But we have it by virtue of Christ in us. In Galatians 2.20, Paul says
this, I am crucified with Christ. When he died, I died. As far
as the law of God is concerned and the judgment of God, when
he died, I died, because I was in him. I was bound with him
from eternity. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless,
I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And the life which
I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of Jesus Christ,
who loved me and gave himself for me. He imputes, he credits
to the account of his people, the righteousness of God. By
accomplished redemption, through his shed blood, but he also,
not only imputes, but he imparts a righteous nature in the new
birth, which God makes the saved sinner He comes and lives, he
makes his abode with his people. So test the spirits, test the
preachers. Does their Christ save to the
uttermost? That's what Hebrews 7.25 says,
he saves to the uttermost. Or does he just give you, as
it were, a leg up and then it's for you to complete? No, he saves
his people to the uttermost. And finally, very quickly, he
witnesses in his people. He brings a felt, experienced,
salvation from sin. He shines light into our hearts,
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. His light illuminates our souls. It uproots and destroys every
notion of self-worth. I'm a poor sinner and nothing
at all is the testimony that he brings. He teaches daily dependence
on God's grace and mercy in Christ alone. God's true Christ came
in the flesh to be his people's deliverance, successfully completed
from condemnation, to be their sanctification, to be their hiding
place from the wrath of God, to be their strength, to be their
mediator, one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Therefore, we respond as the
psalmist responds. Psalm 103, verses one and two. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Have you felt it? You can imagine
the psalmist having this overwhelming feeling of the grace and goodness
of God, of his heavenly hope, and he cries, bless the Lord,
O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Forget
not all his benefits, all the good things he has done for me.
So try the spirits. Test whether the preaching you
hear or the creed of the church that you go to confesses that
this Christ, the one who came in the flesh to accomplish eternal
salvation, is the one that the Old Testament scriptures declare,
the one who is the elect head of his elect body. the one who
completed a complete salvation that depends in no way on the
doing of his people, to make his elect the complete righteousness
of God in him and to witness in their hearts. That's the true
Christ of God. Amen.